Dr. Anuj Kumar Dhama

Consultant Paediatrician And Neonatologist

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Immunization is one of the most important and cost effective way of protecting children against common childhood illnesses many of which can be potentially serious, even life threatening.

Why Are Vaccines Important?

If a child is not vaccinated and is exposed to a disease germ, the child's body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died of diseases vaccines prevent, like whooping cough, measles, and polio. Those same germs exist today, but babies are now protected by vaccines and so we do not see these diseases as often.

How do Vaccines Work?

There are a series of steps that a person's body goes through in learning how to fight off a vaccine-preventable disease: First -. Most vaccines contain a weakened or dead disease germ or part of a disease germ. Other vaccines use inactivated toxins.

Next - The body makes antibodies against the weakened or dead germs in the vaccine.

Then - These antibodies can fight the real disease germs, which can be lurking all around ? if they invade the child's body. Finally - Protective antibodies stay on guard in the child's body to safeguard it from the real disease germs.

Reducing pain from vaccination - The recommendations divide the injection process into 2 periods: before the injection and during the injection

Before the injection, preparation of a child older than 2 years reduces anxiety and subsequent pain. For children younger than 4 years, the preparation should be done in close chronological proximity to the injection itself.

During the injection, parental attitudes clearly affect the child\'s pain behaviors. Excessive parental reassurance, criticism, or apology appears to increase distress, whereas humor and distraction may reduce distress. The age, temperament, and interests of the child, as well as personal style of the parents, will determine which distraction techniques will be most effective. These techniques may include storytelling, reading to the child, deep breathing, and blowing. Although it seems counterintuitive, children often are more distressed when parents are more rather than less involved, the authors write. Therefore, a matter-of-fact, supportive, nonapologetic approach is endorsed. In children younger than 6 months, sucrose solution given directly into the mouth or on a pacifier reliably reduces evidence of distress and should be used routinely, in part because it is relatively inexpensive. Pressure at the immunization site decreases pain, whether applied with a mechanical device or manually with a finger. Furthermore, it is noninvasive, inexpensive, and without adverse effects.

IAP Immunisation Time Table Recommendations of the IAP Committee on Immunisation

table

Age

Vaccine

Note

Birth

BCG, OPV zero, Hepatitis B -1

0

6 weeks

OPV-1 + IPV-1 / OPV -1, DTPw-1 / DTPa -1,H epatitis B -2, Hib -1

OPV alone if IPV cannot be given

10 weeks

OPV-2 + IPV-2 / OPV-2,DTPw-2 / DTPa -2,Hib -2

OPV alone if IPV cannot be given

14 weeks

OPV-3 + IPV-3 / OPV -3 DTPw-3 / DTPa -3 Hepatitis B -3 Hib -3

OPV alone if IPV cannot be given
Third dose of Hepatitis B can be given at 6 months of age